CA2398770C - Hearing aid comprising a microphone arrangement and an analog-digital converter module - Google Patents

Hearing aid comprising a microphone arrangement and an analog-digital converter module Download PDF

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Publication number
CA2398770C
CA2398770C CA002398770A CA2398770A CA2398770C CA 2398770 C CA2398770 C CA 2398770C CA 002398770 A CA002398770 A CA 002398770A CA 2398770 A CA2398770 A CA 2398770A CA 2398770 C CA2398770 C CA 2398770C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
analog
digital converter
microphone
shielding case
hearing aid
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Fee Related
Application number
CA002398770A
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
CA2398770A1 (en
Inventor
Christoph Wuersch
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Sonova Holding AG
Original Assignee
Phonak AG
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Phonak AG filed Critical Phonak AG
Publication of CA2398770A1 publication Critical patent/CA2398770A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA2398770C publication Critical patent/CA2398770C/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04RLOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/60Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04RLOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R2225/00Details of deaf aids covered by H04R25/00, not provided for in any of its subgroups
    • H04R2225/49Reducing the effects of electromagnetic noise on the functioning of hearing aids, by, e.g. shielding, signal processing adaptation, selective (de)activation of electronic parts in hearing aid
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04RLOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/50Customised settings for obtaining desired overall acoustical characteristics
    • H04R25/505Customised settings for obtaining desired overall acoustical characteristics using digital signal processing
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04RLOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/60Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles
    • H04R25/609Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles of circuitry

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Neurosurgery (AREA)
  • Otolaryngology (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Electrostatic, Electromagnetic, Magneto- Strictive, And Variable-Resistance Transducers (AREA)
  • Details Of Audible-Bandwidth Transducers (AREA)
  • Circuit For Audible Band Transducer (AREA)

Abstract

The invention relates to a hearing aid comprising a microphone arrangement (1) and an analog-digital converter (5) connected in outgoing circuit thereto, whereby the microphone arrangement (1) is enclosed in a shielding enclosure (3), and the analog-digital converter (5) is mounted on the shielding enclosure (3).

Description

HEARING AID COMPRISING A MICROPHONE ARRANGEMENT AND AN
ANALOG/DIGITAL CONVERTER MODULE

The present invention relates to a hearing aid comprising a microphone system and a subsequent analog/digital converter.

It is known to shield the microphone arrangement of hearing devices against electromagnetic interference and to design them with consideration given to acoustic resonance chambers.
For hearing devices with digital audio-signal processing, it is further known to provide an analog/digital converter directly downstream of the microphone arrangement.

DE 195 457 60 proposes combining the analog/digital converter with the microphone arrangement on a hearing device to form one structural unit and to shield them jointly against electromagnetic interference.
Proceeding in this way is disadvantageous from various aspects:

- Every further development of the analog/digital converter on the one hand and of the microphone arrangement on the other hand requires a new design of the entire integral component.

- The advantage that one and the same analog/digital converter could be used in combination with various microphone arrangements, or one and the same microphone arrangement could be used with different AD converters, is precluded with regard to lowering the production costs of the individual components referred to.

- When designing the microphone arrangement, the analog/digital converter which is integral with it must also be considered with respect to the design of acoustic resonance chambers directly coupled to the microphone.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate these disadvantages. This is achieved by a hearing aid comprising a microphone system and a subsequent analog/digital converter, wherein the microphone system is encapsulated in an electromagnetic shielding case forming a shielded microphone system unit, and further wherein the analog/digital converter is mounted on an outer surface of the electromagnetic shielding case.
The invention also concern a hearing aid comprising: a microphone; an electromagnetic shielding case for encapsulating the microphone; and an analog/digital converter mounted on an outer surface of the electromagnetic shielding case and electromagnetically shielded from the microphone.
The invention further concerns a microphone system with a size for applying in a hearing aid comprising: a microphone system encapsulated in an electromagnetic shielding case; and an analog/digital converter mounted on an outer surface of the electromagnetic shielding case.

In the insight of the invention, direct mechanical assembly of the analog/digital converter on the microphone arrangement provided with a shielding enclosure eliminates the aforementioned disadvantages - 2a -and, moreover, no disadvantages with regard to electromagnetic shielding have to be accepted in practice, since, without impairing acoustic resonance chambers and the modular microphone and analog/digital converter construction, both units can continue to be optimally shielded. Such a result is obtained in a preferred embodiment in that the analog/digital converter, systematically following the modular concept, is itself encapsulated in a shielding enclosure which can be snugly placed during assembly on the shielding enclosure of the microphone arrangement, with conduction lengths becoming insignificant, so as to be at the potential of the shielding enclosure of the microphone arrangement.

In a further preferred embodiment, the microphone arrangement and the analog/digital converter are not only modularly constructed and then undetachably combined, but it is also contemplated to combine the two modules detachably.

To fully exploit the advantage of the construction according to the invention, in particular its modularity and the flexible use of one and the same analog/digital converter module for different applications, in particular different microphone arrangements, the invention proposes an analog/digital converter module with at least two analog inputs which have different input impedances and/or different signal gains.

The invention is explained below by way of example on the basis of figures, in which:

Figures la-id schematically show the construction of a microphone and analog/digital converter arrangement according to the invention with different shielding concepts;
Figure 2 schematically shows in a simplified manner a sectional representation through an example of an arrangement according to the invention, and Figure 3 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of an analog/digital converter module according to the invention.

Figure 1 schematically shows four con-figurational variants of the microphone arrangement and a directly downstream analog/digital converter on a hearing device according to the invention (not represented). According to figure la, a microphone arrangement 1 is encapsulated against influences of electromagnetic interference signals by means of a shield 3. According to the invention, the analog/digital converter 5 is mounted on the shield 3 of the microphone arrangement 1. According to figure lb, a further shield 7 is provided on the output side of the analog/digital converter, in particular also for the purpose of preventing electromagnetic interference from being fed from the output of said analog/digital converter back to its analog input. According to figure lc, this is optimized by the analog/digital converter 5 itself being encapsulated in a shield 7a. This embodiment is preferred because it allows flexible use of the analog/digital converter 5 itself in a modular manner, irrespective of how and where further shielding means are provided. According to figure ld, the shielding 7b of the analog/digital converter 5 is interrupted on one side and is completed there by the shielding of the microphone arrangement 1. In this instance, the outer shaping of the microphone arrangement or its shield 3 and the design of the analog/digital converter 5 are interrelated.

Figure 2 shows schematically and by way of example the construction of the combination according to the invention of the microphone arrangement and the analog/digital converter. The shielding enclosure 13 of the microphone arrangement 10 with the acoustic input 11 bears a flexible sheet 15 coated with conductor paths 17 of the digital output of the converter. The analog/digital converter 16 is encapsulated by a thin shield 17, which is completed by means of a metallized layer of the sheet 15, as represented at 17c, and sits snugly enough on the shielding enclosure 13 to be at its potential. As only schematically represented, the analog/digital converter is constructed within the shield 17. As also represented only schematically, its analog input EA is led through the sheet 15 and the corresponding portion of the shield 17 into the enclosure 13 of the microphone arrangement 10.

In a preferred manner and in particular with a view to the modular use of the analog/digital converter used according to the invention, it can in principle be used with different input configurations, as schematically represented in figure 3. For instance, it has at least two inputs E1 and E2 with different input impedances Z1 and Z2, respectively, and/or with different input gains G1 and G2, respectively, if appropriate even with different analog/digital converter characteristics. This makes it possible for the analog/digital converter to be flexibly used in a modular manner for different microphone arrangements.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS:
1. A hearing aid comprising a microphone system and a subsequent analog/digital converter, wherein the microphone system is encapsulated in an electromagnetic shielding case forming a shielded microphone system unit, and further wherein the analog/digital converter is mounted on an outer surface of the electromagnetic shielcing case.
2. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 1, wherein the analog/digital converter is encapsulated in a converter shielding case and is mounted to said outer surface via said converter shielding case which is set to an electrical potential of the electromagnetic shielding case of the microphone system.
3. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 1, wherein the microphone system and the analog/digital converter are detachably combined in a modular manner.
4. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 2, wherein the microphone system and the analog/digital converter are detachably combined in a modular manner.
5. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 1, wherein said analog/digital converter comprises first and second analog inputs, said first analog input having a first input impedance and a first input gain, said second analog input having a second input impedance and a second input gain, and wherein at least one of said first and second input impedances and of said first and second input gains are respectively different from one another.
6. A hearing aid comprising: a microphone; an electromagnetic shielding case for encapsulating said microphone; and an analog/digital converter mounted on an outer surface of said electromagnetic shielding case and electromagnetically shielded from said microphone.
7. A microphone system with a size for applying in a hearing aid comprising:
a microphone system encapsulated in an electromagnetic shielding case; and an analog/digital converter mounted on an outer surface of said electromagnetic shielding case.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein said analog/digital converter is mounted on said outer surface via an electromagnetic shielding case of said analog/digital converter.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein said analog/digital converter is fixed to a flexible sheet having a conducting path connected to a digital output of said converter, said sheet with said converter being encapsulated in an electromagnetic shielding case mounted to said outer surface.
10. The system of claim 7, further comprising an electrical connection from an output of said microphone through said shielding case of said microphone to said flexible sheet.
CA002398770A 2000-02-11 2000-02-11 Hearing aid comprising a microphone arrangement and an analog-digital converter module Expired - Fee Related CA2398770C (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/CH2000/000081 WO2000022905A2 (en) 2000-02-11 2000-02-11 Hearing aid comprising a microphone arrangement and an analog-digital converter module

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2398770A1 CA2398770A1 (en) 2000-04-27
CA2398770C true CA2398770C (en) 2009-09-22

Family

ID=4358043

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002398770A Expired - Fee Related CA2398770C (en) 2000-02-11 2000-02-11 Hearing aid comprising a microphone arrangement and an analog-digital converter module

Country Status (8)

Country Link
US (1) US7006647B1 (en)
EP (1) EP1264513B1 (en)
JP (1) JP2003507909A (en)
AU (1) AU774979B2 (en)
CA (1) CA2398770C (en)
DE (1) DE50015911D1 (en)
DK (1) DK1264513T3 (en)
WO (1) WO2000022905A2 (en)

Families Citing this family (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7443992B2 (en) 2004-04-15 2008-10-28 Starkey Laboratories, Inc. Method and apparatus for modular hearing aid
US7978861B2 (en) * 2004-05-17 2011-07-12 Sperian Hearing Protection, Llc Method and apparatus for continuous noise exposure monitoring
JP4724410B2 (en) * 2004-11-19 2011-07-13 株式会社オーディオテクニカ Condenser microphone
DE202006002942U1 (en) * 2006-02-22 2007-07-05 Brauner, Dirk Adapter for microphones
CN202068570U (en) * 2008-09-18 2011-12-07 西门子医疗器械公司 Hearing aid panel arrangement
US8625830B2 (en) * 2008-12-02 2014-01-07 Phonak Ag Modular hearing device
US20220377470A1 (en) * 2021-05-21 2022-11-24 Gn Hearing A/S Hearing aid with dual coil components for noise cancellation

Family Cites Families (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2716336B1 (en) * 1977-04-13 1978-07-06 Siemens Ag Procedure and hearing aid for the compensation of hearing defects
US4956868A (en) * 1989-10-26 1990-09-11 Industrial Research Products, Inc. Magnetically shielded electromagnetic acoustic transducer
US5229771A (en) * 1992-03-16 1993-07-20 Integrated Semiconductor Solutions Analog to digital converter for converting multiple analog input signals to corresponding digital output signals during one conversion cycle
US5243660A (en) * 1992-05-28 1993-09-07 Zagorski Michael A Directional microphone system
US6031923A (en) * 1995-11-13 2000-02-29 Gnecco; Louis Thomas Electronmagnetically shielded hearing aids
DE19545760C1 (en) * 1995-12-07 1997-02-20 Siemens Audiologische Technik Digital hearing aid
JPH09181605A (en) * 1995-12-27 1997-07-11 Sony Corp Analog/digital conversion and digital/analog conversion device
DE29608215U1 (en) * 1996-05-06 1996-08-01 Siemens Audiologische Technik Gmbh, 91058 Erlangen Electric hearing aid
US6222927B1 (en) * 1996-06-19 2001-04-24 The University Of Illinois Binaural signal processing system and method
DE19635229C2 (en) 1996-08-30 2001-04-26 Siemens Audiologische Technik Direction sensitive hearing aid
US5757933A (en) * 1996-12-11 1998-05-26 Micro Ear Technology, Inc. In-the-ear hearing aid with directional microphone system
US5878147A (en) * 1996-12-31 1999-03-02 Etymotic Research, Inc. Directional microphone assembly
US6236731B1 (en) * 1997-04-16 2001-05-22 Dspfactory Ltd. Filterbank structure and method for filtering and separating an information signal into different bands, particularly for audio signal in hearing aids
US6137887A (en) * 1997-09-16 2000-10-24 Shure Incorporated Directional microphone system

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DK1264513T3 (en) 2010-08-09
WO2000022905A3 (en) 2001-03-15
WO2000022905A2 (en) 2000-04-27
EP1264513B1 (en) 2010-04-21
US7006647B1 (en) 2006-02-28
AU774979B2 (en) 2004-07-15
EP1264513A2 (en) 2002-12-11
AU2427000A (en) 2000-05-08
CA2398770A1 (en) 2000-04-27
DE50015911D1 (en) 2010-06-02
JP2003507909A (en) 2003-02-25

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Effective date: 20140211